Life-saving apparatus.



\ IVI. KSPETER.

UFE SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION min 1AN.16.1915.

v I'A TTU/ef wl. IUSPTER.

LIFE SAVING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. i6. 1915.

@muted June 22, 19M,

Z SHEETS-SHEET 2.

A' TTU/CNE Y MICHAEL KISPTER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS.

rilassa.

To all 'who/m, tt may concern Be it known that I, MICHAEL KISPTER, a subject of the King of Hungary, residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented new and useful 'Impr ovements in LifeSavi11g Apparatus, of which the following is a specication.

rl`his invention relates to life saving apparatus and its object is to provide means whereby thelife of a person dropping from an aeroplane or airship either over land or over water, may be saved.

I attain my object by means of an outfit consisting of a life jacket, lined with airtight inflatable cushions, a spring helmet removably attached to the jacket and a parachute fastened to the body over the jacket, adapted to be opened and shut at the will of the wearer thereof. i.

in the accompanying drawings: Figure l is a partly sectional, partly elevational view of my device in operation, showing a person fitted out therewith. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a part of the device. Fig. 3 is a plan of part of my device, partly broken away. Fig. l is a section taken on the line a-a of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line o o of Fig. 4f, on an increased scale. Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view. F ig. 7 is a sectional view of another detail.

The same reference vcharacters refer to the same part throughout the several views.

iReferring more particularly to the draw ing, J is a jacket substantially of the shape of an ordinary coat, having two side tails jl, the front and rear part being cut away below the waist. rThis jacket is lined at the inside with air-cushions jz made of rubber, two at the. front and two at the back of the body portion and one on each side-tail, js. The jacket J is buttoned at the front from neck to waist and if the wearer thereof falls into water, the two coat tails will, on account of the buoyancy of the air cushions, float on the surface of the water, coacting with the air cushions in the body part of the jacket to keep the wearer afloat.

Over the jacket J is strapped a parachute P consisting of two parallel cylindrical hoops p1, each of two parts hinged together at the back and having means for closing or opening it at the front. The two hoops p1 are connected with each other hv six vertical bans p2 placed equidistantly around their Specification of Letters Patent. Patentd June 2,2, 19u15' Application filed January 16, 1915. SeralNo. 2,5I4Q. i i

periphery. Hinged te the top endl of each bar p2 are ribs R' and hinged to the lower y end of each bar p2 are stays S. On top of the ribs R is conveniently7 fastened a4 substantially circular cover F of some suitable fabric, with a circular opening at its center around the hoops p1. at the front, the edges overlapping each other and held together by. clasps C.

The ribs R arehalfround metal bars, havr[he cover Fl isslit v Ae5 ing a concave portion from r1 to r2. slottedi' as at r3 and covered by a convex lid .r4 removablj: secured, thereto and forming Van elliptical channel therewith. The hd rthas all along its inside a vertical projection or guide rail 7'5. I j The stays S are fiat bars of light metal, forked at their outer ends and carrying between the prongs s? ofthe fork pivotally mounted swiveling blocks s2, provided with a screw hole each at its outer surface, adapted to take up therein the threaded stenrof a screw s3, having a head s4 with a groove S5 diagonallv to the length of the stays S. rihe screw s3 is inserted into the slot 1'8 in the concave portion of the ribs R, when the lid r4 is removed therefrom and screwed into the swiveling block s2 so that the groove e5 is parallel with the length of the-rib'R. Then the lid r4 is fastened on, the 'guard rail 715 engaging the groove '85 which is adapted freely to slide thereon. yStraps p3,

cup c3 is one end of a helical spring 04 and 100 to the other end of same is fastened a resilient metal plate c5, integral with a pushbutton c6. The two ends of the resilient metal plate 05 overlie the upper edges of the the clasp C, litting over the cup, thus pre# venting it to o en. The other edge of the fabric is provi ed with eyelets fitting over the cup of and the two edges are clasped t0- gether as shown in Fig. 7.

cup'and the edges of a circular aperture in 105 If the 1button 1li) the spiral spring cA1 will push the metal plate (z5-and button c out again of the cup c3.

H is a cylindrical metal helmet having a solid rubber lining h1 inside the top and a metal plate 7a2 under the rubber. To the metal plate h2 is fastened a helical spring h3,

resting on another metal plate underneath it,

e h4, .Which projects through horizontal slots l Gopies of this patent may be obtained for in 'the .cylindrical body of the helmet on both sides and is continued in two bars running down vertically* to the shoulders of the wearer and there shaped like epaulets as shown at 71.5, removably attached to the shoulder portions of the jacketJ. At the back the material of the helmet is prolonged to the back of the jacket J, Whererit is removably fastened to, as seen at h6. The helmet is supported on the shoulders of the wearer by means of the bars h5 just above the head of the person and not resting thereon.

It Will readily be understood from this description of my invention that a person falling from the air, equipped with my life saving apparatus, Will first open the parachute by means of raising slightly' the ha nds slipped in the straps over the ribs, theest being done by the pressure of the air against the lower surface of the fabric covering the parachute. Should the person fall into Water, the air-cushions will keep him or her aiioat and should the respective person fall on land and the parachute not assure a descent smooth .enough to prevent a `violent impact with same, the impact will considerably be' reduced also by the air cushions. Should the person fall head foremost the sides of the helmet Will break on contact With the soil and the resilient means conby Letters Patentl is l. A life saving apparatus, for aeronauts, comprising, in combination, a. jacket lined with air-tight inatable cushions, a para chute adapted to be'easily opened and closed, removably attached to the body over said jacket, and a helmet supported over the head.

of the wearer by means of supports attached removably to the shoulder and back portions of said jacket, resilient means in saidhelme't, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A life saving helmet, comprising, in

lcombination, a cylindrical body portion closed at the top, said top lined at the inside with resilient material, a. helical spring between two metal plates. within said cylindrical body, projections of the lower one of said plates piercing the sides of said cylindrical body, adapted to be fastened to the shoulder portions of a life saving acket, and

Ato support said helmet just above the head of the wearer, and a prolongation of the material covering said helmet adapted to be removably fastened to the back portion of a life saving jacket, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto fixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses l MICHAEL KISPTER. Witnesses:

ALEXANDER DENEs, ABADAR HAMBURGER.

five cents each, 'by addressing the "Commissioner of Patenti, Washington, I). C'. 

